112 



THE OOLOOI8T 



all other things *in the "vvorld com- 

 bined. 

 Dear Editor: 



This year started me out with the 

 loss of my mother. She passed away 

 December 30, 1916, aged 76 years. 



It is the saddest blow of my life, 

 as I am left all alone in the home 

 where we lived together for many 

 years. 



Mother always took so much inter- 

 est in my collection and gave me 

 many little bird notes from observa- 

 tion around the home. How dearly 

 she loved the robins and how anxious- 

 ly she waited for the first one to come; 

 and when my exchanges came in, it 

 was Mother that helped unpack the 

 boxes of bird skins and together we 

 would look them over and praise and 

 criticise together the contents of the 

 box. 



But she is gone to the Dear Lord 

 that I gave her. I was so heartbroken 

 that I wrote my correspondents that 

 I hardly thought I would ever ex- 

 change again, as I did not wish to 

 increase my collection, not knowing 

 what possibly would become of it, 

 should I ever decide to break up the 

 home. Then I received letters in 

 answer that were beautiful in sympa- 

 thy and that showed the tender hearts 

 of these bird men, men that I had 

 never met, but were at that time to 

 me as brothers. God bless them; the 

 heart of the true bird man is tender 

 and true. 



As time passed by I slowly came 

 back to an interest again in my birds, 

 so I have taken up a little of the bird 

 work, but I feel so alone at it. 



Last Wednesday, May 9th, I had oc- 

 casion to go over in Clayton County 

 and measure up three hundred cords 

 of wood I had sold to a Dubuque Com- 

 pany for the manufacture of excelsior 

 and while passing by a large spring 

 I flushed a Woodcock. This is the 



first one I have seen in this vicinity 

 in 23 years, and neither have I heard 

 of any being taken. And while I was 

 sure this one had a nest, I failed to 

 find it, although I did not have as 

 much time to look for the nest as I 

 desired. I should like very much to 

 return and try again, but business will 

 not permit it. 



Trusting your little magazine re- 

 ceives the support it so justly de- 

 serves, I remain always its friend, 

 O. M, Greenwood. 

 Manchester, la. 



Birds of a Back Yard. 



This spring, 1917, has brought a 

 wonderful variety of birds. I have 

 noted more varieties in my sixty foot 

 back yard this spring than many years 

 previous. 



I have two apple, one peach, one 

 cherry, one lilac, two plum and many 

 more bushes which have had an 

 abundance of migrators this year. A 

 family of wrens, catbird, Warbling 

 Vireo, Yellow Warbler, and Chipping 

 Sparrow are now nesting in same. 



My records show Cardinal, Downy, 

 Hairy and Red-headed Woodpecker, 

 Blue Jay, Yellow-breasted Sapsucker, 

 two Nuthatch, Chickadee, Baltimore 

 and Orchard Oriole, Robin, White- 

 throated and White-crowned Spar- 

 rows, Catbird, Bronzed Grackle, 

 Cuckoo, Brown Thrush, Warbling 

 Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Black- 

 burnian, Parula and Chestnut sided 

 Warbler, Mourning Dove and two 

 Hummingbirds and not able to identi- 

 fy Barnswallow and Purple Martin. 



I feed birds at all times and have 

 families of wrens, catbird, and chip- 

 ping sparrows every year. A flock of 

 White-breasted Sparrows were here 

 for over a week. 



F. A. W. Dean. 

 Alliance, Ohio. 



